Shocking day ends with proposal, wedding plans

Taunton’s Carissa Catarella was running her first Boston Marathon last year when the bombs went off as she climbed Heartbreak Hill.

Little did she know that her then-boyfriend, Mark Tigano, was waiting for her to cross the finish line, ready to propose to her after she completed the race. But the bombing attack interrupted all of that, taking the lives of three young bystanders and injuring 264 others.

“Looking back on that day, all I can remember is how completely shocked and upset I was,” said Catarella, 27. “When I found out what had occurred, I could not believe it — it felt like a bad dream that I couldn’t wake up from. I remember the feeling of panic when I could not reach my family right away, followed by the pure release of emotion when I saw my dad come to get me. I completely broke down in tears.”

Later that night, determined not to let the tragedy completely derail his plans, Tigano proposed to Catarella at a restaurant, surrounded by family and friends. It was a horrific day, capped off with a moment of goodness.

She said yes.

“(That day) made me appreciative of all the little things I may have taken for granted before and when the moment felt right at dinner with my family, Mark proposed,” Catarella recalled. “In that moment, you realize what’s important, and spending our lives together is all we could ever want. Although it was a bittersweet day, it was one that I will never forget.”

Catarella said it just as easily could have been her who was horrifically injured or killed in the bombing. She said that an injured knee slowed down her pace significantly, preventing her from being near the finish line when the bombs went off.

“Once everything sank in and became reality, I realized how lucky I was that my knee had been bothering me that morning,” she said.

Catarella and Tigano are now doing some long-term planning for a wedding set for October 10, 2015.

“We cannot wait,” she said. “Even though it is still a year and a half away, we have almost everything already booked and planned.”

Catarella said due to health reasons, she is unable to run in the 2014 marathon and to complete what she set out to do last year. But Catarella said she gave her spot in the race to a family friend while still raising money for the charity she supported for the marathon last year, Boston Partners in Education.

“I am sad about it, but I need to work on getting healthy again,” Catarella said. “Plus, there is always next year.”

Catarella said she will watch this year’s Boston Marathon, given the special significance surrounding the race, as the community rallies together in the “Boston Strong” spirit.

“I want to support my friends who are running, in addition to the thousands of others running,” she said. “This year will be the biggest year for the Boston Marathon and I cannot wait to see the Boston Strong spirit shine through on that day, as it will be an emotional one.”